What this means in practical terms is that the i5 is capable of delivering beefy bass and tough mids. I used the i5 to mic a Marshall stack, a Mesa/Boogie Stiletto (with a single 12" cab), a Vox AC15 combo, and a vintage Dickerson amp with an 8" speaker. Guitars included Les Pauls, Strats, and Teles, as well as a Danelectro 12-string, a Guild X-160, and a friend’s 7-string Schecter Omen. Every signal was recorded flat (sans console or preamp EQ) to a Pro Tools HD system.

In all cases, the i5 uncorked significantly more bass content than what could be achieved with a Shure SM57—the lows were more comparable to an AKG D 112 or a Sennheiser MD421—and the bottom end on the 7-string could have knocked an elephant off its feet. The mids were a tad dark, but still punchy and aggressive. The chime on the 12-string, for example, was more like Gamelon bells than Christmas bells. In addition, the i5 documented just enough high-end shimmer to add dimension to the overall guitar sound. Although the i5 produced excellent articulation and snap when recording acoustic guitars, the sound didn’t approach the airy highs typically captured by a condenser mic.

Designed as a multi-purpose mic, the i5 can also do utility duty on vocals (best results occurred with singers whose timbres weren’t too reedy), and even snare drums, kick drums, bass cabinets, and percussion. It’s also one rugged character. I received two i5s for the test, so I dropped one directly onto a cement floor from a height of 3 feet—about the height a careless soundperson might fumble it—right on its grille. Then—

simulating a hurried, late-hour stage break down—I tossed the mic into a road case from a distance of five feet. Believe it or not, the “brutalized” mic went on to perform exactly as its nurtured counterpart. (I’d invite you to replicate this torture test, but I’m sure it’ll void your warranty, so you might want to just take my word for it.)

How you employ the i5’s chunky bass reproduction is up to individual taste. For me, the dead-on-the-speaker miking position yielded punishing lows and aggressive mids that really helped the guitar spring to life—as long as the instrumental mix was sparse and bore a single guitar. For a mix with multiple instrumental layers, however, that position didn’t work, as the enhanced low end muddied up the sound spectrum. But rather than cut lows with console EQ, I simply used an off-axis mic position, and moved the mic back about two feet from the speaker, to capture more midrange impact. Bottom line: If you crave a bulletproof dynamic mic with balls, this is your baby.